The number of times Kamala Harris was mentioned on cable news rose dramatically in the wake of the first presidential debate, according to a Monday report from FiveThirtyEight.
From June 23-29, the California senator was mentioned in 16.8% of MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News clips, placing her second only to 2020 front-runner Joe Biden, who was referenced in 37.9% of clips. From two weeks ago to last week, he saw a 17.7% drop.
During last Thursday’s debate, Harris and Biden clashed in a heated moment regarding comments the former vice president made about two former segregationist senators.
Harris was mentioned in 7% of clips the week prior to the debate, from June 16-22. Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Cory Booker of New Jersey were all ahead of Harris that week.
The 9.8% jump Harris experienced from two weeks ago to last week marked the largest jump of any 2020 presidential candidate, and it wasn’t close. The candidate who witnessed the second-largest percentage increase during the same time frame was Obama’s former Housing and Urban Development head Julián Castro, at 4.2%.
The fall of Biden and rise of Harris is also noticeable in CNN’s most recent 2020 poll of Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, released Monday. Biden accumulated 22% of the vote in the poll, a 10-point drop from May to June, but he still remains in first. Harris jumped up to second with 17% of the vote with close to a 10-point increase during the same time.
